


Traces of Imprinting

by ShadowTrooper1414



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Demonic Guardians, Alternate Universe - Reunion Falls, Angst, Dipper and Mabel are 14 at Start of Canon, Fluff, Gen, Grunkle Stan & Manly Dan Friendship, I have no idea how to write bill im sorry, Imprinting, M/M, Other, Platonic Relationships, kinda Human Bill Cipher, until at least chapter 10
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 23:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15762276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowTrooper1414/pseuds/ShadowTrooper1414
Summary: Guardian bonds ran through the Pines family, much like twins did. It started with their great-great-great-great-great grandmother and her sister. They each had a guardian. When another set of twins were born two generations later, they also were bonded. It continued like this until Dipper and Mabel Pines. The demons were late to introduce to the parents, but it failed to matter as the twins were separated at birth. This was going to be a trainwreck with Tad and Bill stuck in the middle.





	Traces of Imprinting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aether_Staza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aether_Staza/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Imprinting Problems](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6892282) by [Aether_Staza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aether_Staza/pseuds/Aether_Staza). 



> Okay, so guys, please go check out that story up there! ^^^ If you're coming from that, welcome! Glad to see you here. Essentially, the whole bond thing between the twins and their Guardians works in the same way Aether_Staza explained in that fic, so at least go read the pre-story author note.
> 
> To get a few things out of the way, I am going to be using the Demonic Guardians AU by [starfleetrambo](http://starfleetrambo.tumblr.com/), the Mystery Trio AU (for the life of me, I couldn't find the creator, so if you know that would be a huge help), and the Reunion Falls AU by [sailorleo](http://sailorleo.tumblr.com/). Obviously, things are going to be different than both the AUs and canon because I'm merging three completely different AUs. It's to be expected. It's mostly going to be in character development, smaller aspects of the characters' personalities, and in relationships, so just bear with me for these first few chapters.
> 
> I am using [neyla9's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/neyla9/pseuds/neyla9) Trustworthy AU ([find it here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5145095/chapters/13877233)) as a bit of inspiration to actually write the chapters. Hopefully, I can do them proud.
> 
> Go check out all of these things because they are amazing and you need to see them. Other than that, enjoy the fic!

Bill Cipher never expected himself to have a Bond. It's not like he didn't want one or anything, but he just didn't see the benefits of having one. Sure, being bonded meant your powers could be enhanced, but he was powerful enough as it was! Besides, a Bond would get in the way of his world domination plans.

This being his mindset, Bill was caught almost blind-sided when he was summoned by the Council. When he arrived outside the council room, he saw another demon - Tad Strange.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Bill asked, looking Tad up and down. The square hadn't changed a bit.

"I got called - same as you," Tad said with a polite smile.

Bill eye-grinned. "Good to see you again, Tad."

"The same to you, Bill," Tad said, smile more genuine now.

The giant doors opened to reveal a four-point star with an open circle for a pupil. "The Council will see you now."

She led them to the center of the room before walking to one of the sides. She was probably a secretary, or maybe a council-member-in-training.

"Bill Cipher and Tad Strange," a deep voice rang out. Fires lit up around the room, providing them with light.

"At your service," Bill said, smirking as he bowed. He tipped his hat to add more of a dramatic effect. Tad simply nodded.

"You have been called here today for important news," the voice said. "It is an honor not many demons get. We do have our doubts about choosing you two for this, but you fit the criteria the best."

"New twins from the Pines family." This was a different voice - much higher in pitch. "This is a family that has a close lineage with Guardians. Bill, you're familiar with one of their relatives."

Bill almost cringed. That was not a good time for him. It technically _still_ wasn't a good time for him. If this was going to work out, he needed to be careful - put the past behind him.

"I presume we are these twins' Guardians," Tad said.

"Your presumption would be correct," the first voice said. "You are to arrive within the next two days and introduce yourself to their parents. The twins should be born not long after that. Any questions?"

At Bill and Tad silence, they said, "Dismissed." 

* * *

"Can we just not?" Bill asked Tad as he floated through the portal.

"No, Bill, we have to," Tad said, rolling his eye. "It's sort of required by Guardian law."

Bill groaned. "But I really don't want to. The parents probably know what I did, and that won't end in a happy ever after."

Tad hesitated before sighing and snapping his fingers. "There. Now we'll be invisible to everyone but the twins."

"But what if that's overkill?" Bill asked, throwing his hands out in a shrug.

Tad groaned. "This is why dealing with you is such a pain."

"You just have fantastic taste in friends," Bill said arrogantly.

"More like terrible," Tad said, rolling his eye.

"Thaddeus Strange, you wound me!" Bill exclaimed, throwing a hand over his eye.

Tad just ignored him and summoned a map with a lit up path on it. "Come on. We need to get going."

"Yeah, yeah," Bill said, eventually following after Tad.

Soon, the two demons reached the Pines' residence. Inside was a man on the phone and a woman who was heavily pregnant. The man was speaking frantically into the receiver, and the woman was sitting at the dinner table, papers scattered around her. She was typing numbers into a calculator and counting on her fingers.

"This is a mess," Tad said under his breath.

"What's going on?" Bill asked, looking at Tad.

"Hell if I know," Tad said with a shrug. "But I presume that's Ivan and Avery Pines."

Bill opened his mouth to respond but was cut off before he could.

"Thank you so much, Stan!" Ivan exclaimed, relief in his voice. "You have no idea how much help this is." He hung up and spun around to face Avery, a smile on his face. "Uncle Stan said that he's willing to take one of the twins into his custody."

Avery looked up from the papers, face exhausted. Immediately, she perked up. "That's great! I just hope we can get all the papers in order."

"He'll be coming down the week after they're born and staying for a few days," Ivan said, walking into the kitchen. Bill idly followed, wanting to hear the conversation. "We'll give him the rundown on taking care of a kid, and answer any questions he has."

"You've really thought this through," Avery said, resting a hand on her swollen stomach. "That's to be expected, of course. You always were the planner.

"I just hope this goes as smoothly as we want it to," Ivan said, hugging his wife's shoulders. "I know it's rough right now, but maybe, when we get our finances figured out, we can bring them home."

"Of course," Avery said, resting a hand on Ivan's right arm, leaning into him.

Bill carefully averted his gaze, looking back at Tad. This was much more complicated than they thought it would be. 

* * *

About two weeks later, Avery gave birth to the twins. One boy and one girl. The girl was older and was named Mabel Avery Pines. The parents called the boy Mason Ivan Pines.

"I hate twins, you know that?" Bill said to Tad.

"Why?" Tad said, voice incredulous.

"Because they're basically carbon copies - if you look past their genders," Bill said.

"What about those other Pines twins?" Tad asked, watching the newborn infants.

Bill rolled his eye. "That was different. Sixer had that extra finger."

"Then I suggest you take another look," Tad said, gesturing at Mason's forehead. Upon closer inspection, Bill saw a blurry shape. It was a birthmark.

Bill's eye lit up, but he covered it by crossing his arms. "Okay, I'll give you this one."

Tad chuckled. Bill was still way too easy to figure out. Well, if you knew him, at least.

A few rooms over, the Pines parents were having a serious conversation.

"No guardians arrived," Ivan said, combing Avery's hair carefully.

"Maybe it's the end of Guardian Bonds in the Pines family," Avery said. "It's been going on for a long time."

Ivan nodded before kissing Avery's forehead. "You get some sleep. I'll go see if the nurses are done with the twins."

Avery hummed, letting her eyes slide closed. She was out like a light. Ivan smiled before leaving the room. He walked down to the nursery where a nurse was waiting with Mason and Mabel.

"Both healthy, if a bit small," the nurse said with a smile, handing Ivan the infants. "Mason is 6.9 pounds and 20.1 inches while Mabel is 7.3 pounds and 19.8 inches."

"And you've taken care of the birth certificate information?" Ivan asked.

"Of course," the nurse said. She led him back to the room Avery was in. Unbeknownst to them, the two demons had followed.

Bill glanced at the infants, then up at Tad. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You're not the only one," Tad said. 

* * *

When Stan arrived the next week, he brought his Guardian along with him. And of _course_ , the Guardian would be able to see Tad and Bill. However, she wasn't exactly _glad_ to see them.

"Cipher, Strange," Pi Mo said, voice a deadpan. A quick look up and down revealed her to be in her human form - a dark-skinned, five foot six woman with a white afro. She had a white eye patch over her right eye that matched her white blazer. She wore black slacks and dress shoes and a black turtleneck.

Pi cleared her throat, pulling Bill's attention back to her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Funny story, Pi," Tad said. "You see-"

"The Council decided we were better off being Guardians to some stupid kids," Bill said. "I thought 'eh, it's worth a shot' and now here we are."

"Careful who you're calling stupid, Cipher," Pi said, narrowing her eye. "It could get you into some serious trouble one of these days."

"Oh, that would be just terrible!" Bill said, pitching his voice up.

"You might want to mention how we didn't introduce ourselves to the parents before she finds out herself," Tad said.

"You didn't do what now?" Pi said, voice dangerously low.

"We never said anything to the parents," Bill said with a shrug. "That always complicates things."

"Can you get a move on, Pi?!" Stan called from the other room. "You should be learning this stuff too. Just in case."

"Alright, I'm coming!" Pi said. She leveled Bill with a look. "You best tread carefully, Cipher. And Strange - tell the parents." 

* * *

"Do you have everything you need?" Avery asked, fretting over the bag of baby supplies they were able to spare for Stan. "You know what you need to buy, right?"

"Relax, Aves," Stand said, cradling Mason in one arm and taking the bag from Avery with the other. "I've got everything under control."

Ivan came up behind Avery, holding Mabel. "I hope they can meet someday."

"I'm sure they will," Stan said. "Might help if we tell them about each other."

"That is a good idea," Avery said. It sounded like the idea had just occurred to her.

"Obviously we'll tell Mabel about her brother. If you tell him about Mabel," Ivan said.

Bill watched the exchange with a heavy feeling in his gut. This was unheard of - at least in this family. He understood why, but it still felt wrong. He heard a sigh next to him and turned to see Pi.

"What's the huffin' for?" Bill said.

"You being that one's guardian," Pi said with a deadpan. Her expression was unamused. Her face quickly morphed to one of discomfort. "Separating twins like this never went well - not even in the movies."

"I can already tell it's going to be a train wreck," Bill sighed. He glanced down at himself. "Do I need a human form?"

"I made one anyway." Tad's voice came from behind them. Bill turned to see Tad - a five foot nine human with pale skin and neat black hair peeking out from a black, purple trimmed bowler hat. He was wearing black slacks and dress shoes, like Pi, but had a white button up underneath a purplish-blue vest.

"Looking snazzy, Tad," Bill said. "But you realize those bodies are basically astral projections, right? With a little magic sprinkled in, of course, to make sure they stay, and so that you can change your age. Even so..."

"Having a human body is more useful than you think," Pi said. "You can do stuff in public without people thinking you're a demon - whether it's true or not."

Bill mentally weighed his options. With a sigh and snap of his fingers, he was now a tan, five foot eleven man with gold-blonde hair that covered his left eye. He basically had the same outfit as Tad, just with a top hat trimmed yellow and a yellow vest.

"There. Happy?" Bill asked.

"Very," Pi said smugly.

"Pi, hurry up, we don't have all day!" Stan yelled from his car. He had finally figured out the car seat. "And for Pete's sake, stop talking to yourself. People will think you're weird."

"I _am_ weird, Stanly," Pi said, rolling her eye. She nodded towards the car, signifying that Bill had to go to it.

"Keep 'Stanly' on the down-low," Stan said as Bill and Pi walked over. "Jeez, how many times must I tell you."

Bill situated himself in the backseat, floating through the car door. He waved goodbye to Tad, who waved back. Reunited only to be torn apart again. Felt a little poetic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the first chapter! The next one should flow smoother. This one just wasn't cooperating with me. I might come back and redo it, but it's hard to tell. Until the next update, my friends!


End file.
